Not Sure Where I Stand

[joeylittle]

I hope others with similar experience around reporting/confidentiality can chime in...

If I recall correctly, @GWhizz is encountering a policy of this particular mental health care group - it's not mandated that the reporting happen in this case, but this group kind of has a 'one-size-fits-all'/cover your ass approach about disclosure and reporting.

@GWhizz - here's an alternate thought. Can you do some therapy with this woman that is purely on grounding, catching and addressing flashbacks before they happen, recovering after startling, stuff like that - without getting into any trauma work with her yet, or even, ever?

Honestly, I would love to quit right now. The only thing holding me back is that I'm not dealing with the flashbacks etc well. That and I have been unfortunate enough to encounter 2 of my abusers at work very recently (hence the increased self-harm again).

Working on the trauma will have to happen, but I believe its totally possible to work on coping and safety skills without actually addressing the root cause of the dissociation, flashbacks, startle, etc. It's got to be unbelievably hard living in the same area as the people who abused you, I can't even imagine. So I'm not suggesting the ultimate solution, just how you might be able to use this therapist for something very targeted and useful for you. I also know its hard to set the agenda, sometimes - but you absolutely can.